Sunday, August 23, 2015

OK, we’ve talked enough
about the heat we have been experiencing but I will say our camp site is
asphalt and I cooked last night’s dinner on it. Burgers, grilled brocolli and
home fries, right on the pavement.

OK, I’m kidding. We are
doing pretty good with it all. Fridge is having trouble staying healthy cool
for things like uncooked meat, so we are not keeping any around. It is cool
enough for veggies, beer, fruit and cheese. A nice current diet. We are
going out tonight for protein.

I traveled to Las Vegas often for wine business in the
latter part of my career. Its rise as a fine dining mecca all happened while I
was in the middle time of my 38 years in the wine trade, and it became a
significant place to both sell upper end wines and also just to be placed to be
seen on prominent wine lists, (for Marketing exposure purposes). I always came
during buying times, late fall and into winter. That is when the wine folks are
here and more are coming, and when folks who do the wine buying are looking for
things to fill holes that have developed.

Never before in the heat of Summer. I heard many times from various local
wholesale wine reps I worked with that Summer was the demolition derby and beer
crowd. I’m not sure about the demolition
derby part, but it is time for beer. It is a friendly calm crowd. As always with Las Vegas, a good part of the
reason in being here is to people watch. No shortage of that. Think about the
favorite American names you’ve heard, and they are all here right now. Lunk,
Thurston, Dolly, Ima, Edgar, Rhonda, Eugene, Phyllis…

We are off today to our first stop in Utah, our camp site is in Virgin Utah. Hey, it’s the
land of multiple wives and they name a town Virgin? We’ll be there a nice 11
nights. With easy access to Zion and Bryce Canyon.